When A Plague Tale: Innocence came out of Asobo’s nest in 2019, it thrust the studio into the spotlight, or rather the lanterns. Indeed, this medieval adventure taking place in Guyenne in the Kingdom of France in 1348 was so successful that it allowed its creators to gain fame. Its sequel, subtitled Requiem, is an opportunity to check whether Bordeaux storytellers are ready to become legends.
Tested on Xbox Series X
This test was carried out using the Xbox Series X version of A Plague Tale: Requiem. Our screenshots were taken directly with the console’s capture systems. As a reminder, the game is part of Game Pass.
50 shades of rats, darker
June 1349, Amicia, Hugo and Lucas are having fun on the Provençal massifs on the edge of the ruins of a castle. The impromptu hide-and-seek games and the merry outbursts of voices by the river quickly attract danger. In a few minutes, the duo plunges into a hell where the flames, kills and screams intertwine to form a bloodstained master’s web. Direct continuation of A Plague Tale: Innocence, Requiem narrates the desperate fight of a sister, Amicia, for the survival of her little brother, Hugo, infected by a mysterious curse which runs in his blood called Macula. Luckily, the little boy lacks it. As the magisters take turns in order to slow down the evil that gnaws at him, he sinks deeper and deeper into darkness. To try to prevent a tragic end to her protege, Amicia will have to throw herself into the origins of the Macula. What if the solution came from Hugo’s strange visions?
In this great escape forward, the siblings will visit various places, ranging from the beach to the big city, under a blazing sun or in the middle of a storm. Although the environments are more open than usual, A Plague Tale: Requiem is a narrative adventure game where the player is constantly guided, whether by carts preventing access to a street, or by a group of passers-by. In this race against time, the siblings can fortunately count on the help of a trio of acolytes with Lucas, Arnaud and Sophia. Each recruit brings a talent that Amicia can summon through the ingame order feature. The young alchemist makes the wood fires stronger than ever, as the knight battles heavily armed foes. The pirate, on the other hand, uses her prism to ignite twigs (which attracts guards) or creates a luminous halo (repelling rats). Together, they will participate in an adventure of about 17 hours which alternates nightmarish passages, nihilistic as possible, with light sequences mainly used to strengthen the bonds between the protagonists.. A formula that has already proven its effectiveness in the past but which is more mastered here than in the studio’s previous creation.
From hide-and-seek to upheaval
Although they facilitate confrontations against opponents, the powers of the little boy are nonetheless limited in their use. In addition, unlike Sam Fisher’s vision goggles, the echo cannot be activated on the fly: Hugo must be stationary to use it, which is handicapping when the guards swarm. In general, daring the soft method without being spotted is not the easiest thing in Requiem. The enemies are numerous, alert, and the noise made by the adversaries that the adventurer stifles quickly brings the guard together. The stealth kill is therefore not really one, it also increases the “aggressiveness” gauge of the heroine. Results ? Normally, it is sometimes advisable to try the strong method, even if it means coming up against die & retryrather than trying total stealth.
It’s when A Plague Tale: Requiem attempts to put all of its stealth/action mechanics into opponent-infested arenas that it enters a gray area. Certainly, the possibilities are numerous to get rid of (or divert attention from) opponents, which is a good point, but the whole thing lacks a bit of precision. This is due to a slingshot that doesn’t exactly respond to finger-and-eye, contextual actions (climb, sneak, etc.) that take time, and many high-located soldiers that are quick to cry wolf. As soon as we are immersed in an arena where it is impossible to have fun with rats, it can be complicated to succeed in what we undertake on the first try. Consequently, the user regularly finds himself in the reaction despite all the efforts made in preparing the best of plans in order to remain invisible.
Fortunately, the big sister now knows how to return melee blows. In close combat, Amicia is able to push or stab the enemy, if she has a knife in her inventory beforehand. Compared to the first episode, the leak is less synonymous with game over. The player who manages to break the lines of sight of the pursuers after a general alert can get away without taking a bad hit. In normal, it takes two hits to perish, which is much more permissive than what we had in Innocence. Contextual actions aren’t just for combat: a small pebble can be thrown at the right moment to distract a soldier heading towards Amicia. By using Hugo’s different weapons, multiple ammunition and powers, the player will manage to get out of inextricable situations. In blood and screams if necessary! Siblings aren’t the only ones to benefit from new abilities. The rats reserve terrible surprises during the epic.
Red carpet for the king!
The work done by Asobo Studios to improve everything that could be improved is titanic. Offering a gameplay offering more possibilities, relying on complementary protagonists pursued in levels offering more choices, this sequel does not forget the essentials for the genre it targets, namely the story, the variety of situations, and the narration. A Plague Tale: Requiem buries everything that the first episode had undertaken on these criteria. It features mostly endearing characters in a story full of twists, pleasant to follow and really surprising in its last third. A few very scripted scenes, the nature of which we will keep silent, ensure a grandiose spectacle worthy of today’s biggest AAAs.
You will have noticed it by looking at our screenshots, the game is magnificent and will become in the coming weeks a screenshot factory for social networks (thanks to the photo mode). The panoramas are impressive, the NPCs are numerous, the places visited are varied, the special effects are splendid and the textures are detailed. In addition, the places are home to various secrets that discerning explorers will unearth. This graphic mastery results in the game only running at 30 frames per second, without the possibility of going to 60 on consoles. A few rare drops in framerate are to be noted from time to time, and the sometimes very present motion blur could spoil the visual comfort of the most sensitive people (this can be deactivated in the options for an even less pleasant result). It only needs a small coat of polish to be at the technical level of the masters of the genre such as Naughty Dog or Santa Monica Studio.
While it doesn’t shy away from ever-so-nasty villains, Requiem offers a cast of successful characters. Strolling with them in search of souvenirs, flowers and feathers (the lore-oriented soft collectibles) is a real pleasure. The VF, of good quality, is practical as the game is talkative. Asobo Studios manages to chain good ideas together at a steady pace, and we weren’t ready to descend so low into darkness. The story of a sister ready to move heaven and earth to save her little brother whom the whole world takes for a freak will speak to everyone. If you found Innocence harsh in its themes and in some of its scenes, know that Requiem engulfs itself even further in horror. At the risk of repeating ourselves, there are sequences that we are not ready to forget. It’s just unfortunate not to have real choices about the final decisions, which could have given the player the delicious impression that the narrative is built according to their actions. Impossible to evoke the emotional impact left by the epic without evoking the high-flying musical hymns of Olivier Derivière. The composer has fun here with everything that has strings, whether synthetic or vocal. Our ears are begging for more while our heart is pounding.
Buy A Plague Tale: Requiem from Amazon
Conclusion
Strong points
- A long, well-written, breathtaking, powerful adventure
- Richer gameplay that offers enjoyable choices
- Very nice graphics for various settings
- A great musical atmosphere
- Good VF
- The amazing end
Weak points
- Infiltration mechanics still imperfect
- It lacks a final coat of finish
- No “performance” option on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
A Plague Tale: Requiem is the game of confirmation. That of a sister’s faith in her little brother when the world crumbles at the footsteps of their defeat. Then, that of the great talent of Asobo Studios. Offering richer gameplay without upsetting the formula, this sequel never forgets the essentials in relation to the genre it targets. Amicia’s desperate fight is at least as magnificent as the graphics and soundtrack that drive the work. The infiltration mechanics can challenge, and we would have liked a final finishing coat, but none of the defects encountered tarnish our judgment: with Requiem, the Bordeaux studio delivers a great vintage. Dark red as death.
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